Cabbage Soup

Marriage Soup... Labeled this by Williams Sonoma. I suppose I too could easily relate this soup to my own marriage to my husband. Intoxicating spices and exotic flavors uniting to form the perfect soup to excite all of your senses and warm you on the chilliest of evenings.

HAH! More like stinky yet stable winter hardy vegetables mixing with some spicy cookies and puckering fruit that will knock your socks off!

I love this soup. As it ages, it just gets better and better.

• 2 TB Veggie Oil
• 1 tsp kosher salt, plus more as needed
• 1/2 tsp freshly ground pepper
• 2 small yellow onions, thinly sliced
• 2 carrots, roughly chpped
• 2 parsnips, roughly chopped
• 4 large cloves garlic, roughly chopped
• 8-10 Cups Veggie broth or beef broth (I use fake beef)
  
• 2 cans (14 Ounces each) stewed tomatoes
• 6 cups roughly chopped green cabbage
• 1 can (14 oz) great northern beans (rinsed and drained) (or frozen butter beans)
• 8 gingersnaps, finely crushed in food processor (scant 1/2 cup)
• 3 TB fresh lemon juice, plus more as needed
• 3 TB firmly packed dark brown sugar, plus more as needed
• 1 bay leaf
• tobasco sauce/sour cream/or my favorite, blue cheese, for serving

1. Heat 2 Tbs of the oil in an 8 quart heavy bottomed stockpot over med-high heat.
   
2. Add the onions, carrots, parsnips, 1 tsp kosher salt, and 1/2 tsp pepper.
   
3. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables begin to carmelize, about 5 minutes.
   
4. Add the garlic and cook, stirring constantly, for 1 minute.
   
5. Add the broth, then the water, tomatoes, cabbage, great northern beans, gingersnaps, the 3 TB lemon juice, 3 TB brown sugar, and the bay leaf.
   
6. Whisk vigorously to dissolve the gingersnaps. They may clump at first, but will disintegrate as you stir.
   
7. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to low. Simmer, stirring occasionally, for 1 1/2 hours.
   
8. Season with more kosher salt, lemon juice, an brown sugar if necessary. Remove the bay leaf. Serve with tobasco and/or sour cream and/or blue cheese. This makes a lot of Soup. It freezes very well, and is actually better on the second day.

Thank you to William Sonoma for the your help with my marriage, for I'm sure I'd be cold without you.